the doula formerly known as Earthy Birthy Doula

Tag: calgary

Earthy Birthy Doula just acquired another birth pool available for rent! I’m happy to announce that I now have an Aquaborn Eco Birth Pool along with the Birth Pool in a Box!

Every pool rental comes with the following accessories:

Hose to fill and drain pool

Faucet adapter

Electric air pump to blow up pool

Submersible water pump to drain pool

Disposable liner

Here are some specs on the pools available to rent:

Birth Pool in a Box

External max dimensions 76 x 65″

Internal max dimensions 56 x 45″

Internal depth 26″

Maximum water depth 22″

Rim width 10”

Built-in seat

Internal seat

Handles on outside 4

Handles on top 2

Volume when filled (80% full) 172 gallons

Pool material 0.55mm PVC

Liner material 0.20mm PVC

Approx. filling time 40 min – 3 hrs

Approx. inflation time 5-25 min depending on how you’re inflating it.

Aquaborn Eco Birth Pool

Material Thickness 0.60mm

External Dimensions 72″ × 64″ × 31″Internal Dimensions 52″ × 44″

Interior Depth 27″

Inflated Floor Thickness 3.3″

Floor White, anti-slip

Handles 6

Number of Persons Two

Approx. Inflation Time 6 min

Approx. Filling Time 45 min

Volume when filled 170 gallon

Pools are rented out for a 4 week period for $185. Additional weeks can be added on for an extra $25/week. Pools are dropped off usually 2 weeks before your due date, with a planned pick up for about 2 weeks after your due date.

If you would like to rent a pool, please contact me to inquire about availability.

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I moved to Calgary in August 2012. Since moving I took on a few births, a handful of placenta clients, and provided birth pool rentals to people who heard of me through the grapevine. There were great plans of continuing my Doula work while working towards a Midwifery degree. Well, as it turns out, a 3.85 GPA is not quite good enough for even an interview for the Midwifery program, so I’ll be back to school in September to upgrade.

Discouraged.

Working as a Birth Doula also turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. I’m a single mother and having to call in a sitter (aka Grandma) at any moment in time just wasn’t ideal, and it’s hard not being able to plan at all when it comes to childcare. As anyone in the birth world knows, most births occur during the middle of the night, so I’m sure you can guess how that went. Turns out single parenting 4 children and working as a Doula is incredibly hard to balance.

Hesitation.

But wait! That’s not it! This post is not just about disappointment, personal failures, and my exit from birth work. I may have been down, but I’m not out yet. This is a positive post, I swear! The tables have turned, and I am more optimistic than I have been in a long time about my role as a Birth Doula. For the first time ever I have a feasible support system in place, and this support system has enabled myself to return to the birth world and finally do what I was made to do. Yes, you read that correctly. I can get back in to my skin, my passion, and my “normal” role of helping women and families feel empowered, informed and supported through one of the most monumental transitions of their life! Childbirth.

Optimistic.

I will start taking clients that have a due date in September or later. Check out my services and make sure to read the About me page, everything has been updated!

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Some very exciting things are brewing in my world right now, and to be honest… they are a little too exciting to keep to myself.

As you may or may not know, I moved to Lethbridge almost seven years ago to attend University. My goal was to finish with a B.Ed. and teach Religous Studies. Yes, that is true story and if you know me personally you can stop laughing now. 🙂 Anyways, over the past seven years I had two more babies, taken time off of school here and there, started a business, became a single mother and then started dating the love of my life, became a certified Doula, changed my major a few times and figured out some pretty major life goals. Here are just a couple of those major goals and how I came to realize them:

1. Pursuing my Midwifery Calling

On May 5th, 2008 I organized a rally here in Lethbridge in demand for Alberta Health Care to cover midwifery services. The rally was held on “International Day of the Midwife” (which was yesterday) and was just one in five rallies being held across Alberta. At the same time rallies were being held in Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton and Medicine Hat (although I’m not sure Med. Hat actually did have the rally or not). Prior to the event I had circulated a petition and lobbied the government demanding this essential service be available for women. Not even a year after this province wide rally Midwifery services were covered by Alberta Health Care. Wow, you have no idea how huge this is. This was a 20 year fight that had finally come to an end!!! Yay!

International Day of the Midwife Rally 2008

**This is one of the only pics I could find at this moment of rally day.. 🙂

Now funding of Midwifery is fantastic and all, but Lethbridge does not even have one registered midwife so it does Lethbridge locals no good (unless they travel). I had to pay for both of my births with Midwives and unfortunately Lethbridge families still have to pay, and it’s for a lay-midwife or traditional birth attendant.

Okay, I will quickly get to my point. Having my second two children with Midwives and then becoming emmersed in the birth community… I came to find my “calling”. I realized that becoming a Midwife was something I was going to do, regardless of how long it took me. With that said, only two provinces in Canada had Midwifery schools at the time, and as a single mother of four, moving that far away was not an option.

In September 2011 Mount Royal University in Calgary began offering a Bachelor of Midwifery program! Yay! So now a Midwifery program is in my hometown, which makes my life goal of becoming a Midwife even that more attainable. I did not apply for last years admission, and I did not apply for this years admission, but my plan is to apply for September 2013 admission. And this brings me to the first announcement of my “very exciting news”… I am moving to Calgary!! This August to be precise.

2. To work as a Doula again with one of my besties

While living in Lethbridge and dreaming of being a Midwife, I kept in close contact with a dear friend of mine, Hannah. We would chat on the phone about opening a birth center after we both became Midwives and how great it would be to work together. In June 2009 we both took the DONA Birth Doula training and became certified shortly thereafter. In May 2010 we both took the DONA Postpartum Doula training, and we are both planning to take the CAPPA Childbirth Educator training very shortly. Now here’s the exciting part. When I am in Calgary I can work as a Doula again (as I have family there to help with childcare), and Hannah and I have decided to work together! This means that we will be teaching prenatal classes together as well as being eachother’s back ups!

What that means is I can now accept Doula clients who are due starting in October and in the Calgary area!!! But don’t worry Lethbridge, I am still available for placenta encapsulation and select births for friends, just contact me!

And this also means thatI am available for Placenta Encapsulation services in Calgary starting in September (without the travel fees)!!

So there are a couple of my goals… to become a Midwife and to work with Hannah. With me moving to Calgary in August, I will be that much closer to actualizing those goals. Hannah and I are in the process of putting together a website and all that jazz, so definitely stay tuned for that!

And I leave you with a quote from one of my favourite kids’ book, “Oh The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Suess.